Molded railway vehicle bodies



Aug. 1,3, 1963 Filed Dec. 29. 1958 W. A. BAKER ETAL MOLDED RAILWAY VEHICLE BODIES 6 Sheets-Sheet l y u, Mlm-Mmmm Aug. 13, 1963 Filed Deo. 29. 1958 w. A. BAKER ETAL 3,100,458

MOLDED RAILWAY VEHICLE BODIES 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug, 13, 1963 w. A. BAKER ETAL 3,100,458

- MoLDED RAILWAY VEHICLE BODIES Filed Deo. 29, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 F/G.4. /Ob /e- 371305415 2405 /oq dy 9bV- 1I26D 90 L l u ./1

Inventor:

A ttorneys Aug. 13, 1963 w. A. BAKER ETAL. 3,100,458

MOLDED RAILWAY VEHICLE BODIES Filed Dec. 29, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Aug. 13, 1963 w. A. BAKER ETAL 3,100,458

MOLDED RAILWAY VEHICLE BODIES Filed neo. 29, 1958 6 sheets-sheet s B Yy Attorneys Aug. 13, 1963 w. A. BAKER ETAL. 3,100,458

MOLDED RAILWAY VEHICLE BODIES Filed Dec. 29, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 rana' Tack P Z By ggf?) q'. Kad/@A Horn e y5 enters United States Patent O 3,109,458 MLDEI) RAILWAY VEHICLE BODIES William Andrew Baker, Aian William Thompson, Francis Murray Lane, and lack Poslett, Bristol, England,

assignors, by mesne assignments, to Bristol Aeroplane Plastics Limited, Bristol, England Filed Dec. 29, 1958, Ser. No. 783,346 Claims priority, application Great Britain Jan. 3, 1958 4 Claims. (Ci. 10S- 397) rllhis invention relates to the construction and manufacture yof wheeled vehicle bodies mainly from mouldable plastic materials.

According to the invention the shell of la wheeled vehicle body is composed of twro trough-shaped mouldings constituting parts of the shell on opposite sides of a longitudinal plane, each moulding 'comprising inner and outer skins of resin-bonded fibrous material connected by rigid cell-forming membranes. 'In this way production in quantity may be facilitated.

The cell-forming membranes maybe of different material from the skins.` For example, in a preferred form of construction the skins are separated by ia layer of rigid multicellular material, [and the large numbens of walls between the cells lof the multicellular material constitute the membranes. Alternatively the membranes may be of the same material as the skins. For example the skins may be connected by webs of resin-bonded iibrous material which may be additional to or instead 'of the multicellular material.

In the preferred construction, by suitable selection of the multicellular material low weight may be obtained in combination with good heat insulation `and sound absonbtion, properties, while the bnous skins ensure toughness and resistance to impact and :fatigue effects.

Advantageously a colouring pigment and/ or other ma` terial providing a decorative effect is incorporated in or as a surface layer of the inner and/or outer skins to provide a permanent decorative effect requiring for its maintenance yonly cleaning `and possibly occasional polishing.

The invention is notably applicable to railway vehicles, especially passenger coaches and also thermally insulated vans. Preferably the mouldings constitute halves of the shell on opposite sides of a vertical longitudinal plane. The two halves may .be identical in general shape, and any necessary diiferences in window and door openings may be obtained without the need for two different moulds. The mouldings for a van may be similar to those for a coach save for fewer openings. The cellular interior of the mouldings provides thermal insulation.

` Preferably a shell part is made by laying outer skin material and multicellular material into Ia female mould part with its opening facing upwardly, attaching inner vskin material on to a male mould part, lowering the male mould part into the female mould part, impregnating the skin material with resin in free-flowing liquid state, solidifying the resin, raising the `male mould and shell part `and lowering them onto a support, releasing the shell part from the male mould, and removing the malle part.

Apparatus for carrying out this method may consist essentially of a stationary female mould part, a male mould part with lifting attachments, means dor raising and transporting the male part by the lifting attachments, a support on which a shell half can be laid, and means for admitting resin to the bottoms of the male and female parts.

rllhe accompanying drawings show examples of railway ycoaches according to the present invention. In these drawings:

FIGURE 1 is au outline side view of the complete coach;

3f,l00,458 Patented Aug. 13, 1963 FIGURE 2 is a partially sectioned perspective view of one end of the shell of the coach body;

FIGURE 3 is la similar view, from the same direction, of the other end of the shell;

FIGURE 4 is a cross section through part of the bottom lof the coach in way of the bogie mounting frame, that is to say in the plane indicated by the line 4-4 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a section through the bogie mounting frame on the line 55 in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a cross section through part of the bottom of the coach in way of the drawbar and buier frames, corresponding to the line 6-6 in FIGURE l;

FIGURE 7 is a section on the line 7 7 in FIGURE 3 showing the arrangement of footboards;

FIGURE 8 illustrates the arrangement of seats and other internal fittings in the coach body;

FIGURE 9 is a partially sectioned perspective viewof one end fof la second coach body;

FIGURE lO is a similar View of the central portion of the second coach body;

`FIGURES 11 and 12 are fragmentary cross sections similar to FIGURES 4 and 6 but of the second coach body;

FIGURE 13 is a diagrammatic perspective view of apparatus for making coach bodies; and

FIGURE 14 is y-a fragmentary section through -a male and female mould just 'before being brought together.

The coach shown in FIGURES 1 to 8 :is of the kind comprising a body 1 mounted upon two vbogies 2 and :havinga corridor door 3 lat each end. The construction of thelbogies 2 (forms no part of the present invention and will not be `further described. The shell of the body, by which is meant the hollow structure devoid of window and door frames, internal partitions and other f1ttings, is composed of two mouldings 4a and 4b, see FIGf URES 2 and 3, `constituting halves of the shell on opposite sides of a vertical longitudinal plane identifiableV in FIGURES 2 and 3 as the plane containing an upper joint 5 and a lower joint 6. As originally moulded both mouldings are identical rand each comprises a side wall panel 7a, 7b merging into a. roof panel 8a, 8b and into a bottom panel 9a, 9b and also a floor panel 10a, 10b spaced from the bottom panel. The two mouldings 4a and 4b are fadhesively joined together at the joints 5 and 6 and each joint is further reinforced by a pair of adhesively attached butt-straps respectively inside and outside the shell. Part of the outer butt-strap of the upper joint`5 is shown at 11 in FIGURE 3 and part of the inner one sat 12. Similarly, part of the inner buttsstrap of the `lower joint 6 is shown at 13 and part of the outer one at 14. `Atfter the mouldings have been made, and preferiably before they lare joined together to form the completeshell, door `and window openings 15 and 16 are cut in their side panels 7a and 7b. The arrangement of these openings may be different for the two mouldings, although in the coach illustrated they are in fact identical, the turning of `one moulding to -bringit into proper juxtaposition with the other producing an asymmetrical arrangement relatively to the vertical longitudinal plane in which Iat ione end ofthe coach there is -a door opening bonded with a resin which has been set to a solid state by polymerisation and is sufficiently stable in .that state through the range of temperatures which will be en' `countered in use. Preferably either a polyester or an epoxide resin is used for this purpose. The fibrous material incorporated in the inner and outer skins is preferably glass iibre in Woven form, several thicknesses being used for each skin, but if desired a material having superior qualities in regard to decorative etect or durability may be used as :a surface layer. For example the surface layer or selected parts of it may be composed of cloth woven from polyamide fibres, or of a solid iilm of a melamine or other hard wear-resistant resinous material. The surface layer may alternatively or additionally be coloured by the incorporation of suitable pigments or dyes in the iibrous material or in the bonding resin or in both. The inner and outer skins are separated by a layer of rigid multicellular material which may be for example of foamedY plastic material which has been set to a hard rigid state or a foamed cellulosic material having these properties. The material should also be combustion resistant or be treated with known fire-proofing agents to make it so. The layer 20 is preferably built up from moulded blocks 21 of the multicellular materialfthese blocks being wrapped before assembly in sheet fibrous vmaterial 22 which is either already impregnated with bonding resin or becomes so impregnated at a later stage in the process, for example as presently described. In the nished moulding the blocks of multicellular material are thus enclosed in cells the walls of which are composed of resin-bonded brous material. yAs will be seen from FIGURES 2 and 3 the bottom panels 9a, 9b and the lloor panels 10a, 10b of the respective mouldings are interconnected by Webs 23. These webs are formed from resin1 bonded iibrous material continuous with the outer skin of the floor panel and the inner skin of the bottom panel.

The -mouldings also comprise thin steel reinforcement plates 24a, 24b `'and 25a, 25b incorporated in the inner and outer skins of the floor panel 10a, 10b at each end of the moulding, and somewhat similar plates 26a, 26b, 27a, 27h, and 28a, 28b are also incorporated in the inner and outer skins of the bottom panel 9a, 9b. The plates 24a, 24b and 26a, 6b reinforce the oor and bottom panels in the region at each end of the moulding where, as shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, a steel frame 29 is lodged between these panels, bridging .the joint between the two mouldings. The frame 29 includes a tubular part 29a into which a tubular part 30 arranged for lconnection to a -bogie 2 projects upwardly through the bottom panel and is secured by bolts 33a. The frame 29 is provided with top and bottom plates 31 and 32 which engage respectively the underside of the floor panel 10a, 10b and the upper side of the bottom panel 9a, 9b, bolts 33h being used to secure these parts together. The frame 29 is also provided with end plates 29h and 29e which are secured by bolts 33C to two of the webs 23a and 23h, these webs being reinforced by steel plates 23C extending righ-t across the 'bottom of each moulding. To provide access for tightening these bolts, openings 34a, 34b are cut in the floor panels 10a, 10b.

These openings are eventually closedV by covers (not shown).

The plates 25a, 25b; 27a, 27h `and 28a, 28h reinforce the oor and bottom panels in the region at each end ofv the moulding where, as shown in FIGURE 6, steel frames 35a, 35b and 36 are lodged between these panels and haveparts 37a, 37b and 38 respectively projecting throughthe ends'of the body and arranged to receive buffers 39V and Y drawbar equipment 40. The' frames 35a, 35h are provided with flange plates 41, 42 which engagerespectively the underside of the oor panel 10a, 10b and the upper side of the bottom panel 9a, 9b, where these are reinforced by the plates 25a, 25b and27a, 27b, and bolts 43 secure allV these parts together. In a somewhat similar manner the frames 36 are provided with flange plates 44 and 45 and are securedby bolts 46. V'Ihe parts ofthe frames 35a, 35h and 36 which project through the mouldings are covered land faired into the surface of the latter by cowlings 47a, 47b and 43 built up from resin-bonded brous material.

The side panels 7a and 7b may also be reinforced by moulded-in metal 'plates in'cases where the extent of the required window and door openings is such as to weaken the structure inadmissably.

The principal internal it-tings are illustrated in FIG- URE 8 and comprise partitions 49, luggage racks 50 and seat frames 5I. All these parts are made from resinbonded fibrous material and are attached by an adhesive to the shell mouldings. The luggage racks may incorporate electric light iittings 52 and a channel 53 for the electrical wiring. rl`he partitions constituting the lavatory compartments may be preassembled as complete units together with the Wash basins and other iittings required in these compartments, the units being afterwards secured in place in the shell mouldings by means of an adhesive. Ventilation may be effected by means of opening windows, or Valternatively air-conditioning equipment may be carried, together with other services, in a housing 54 slung beneath the body. In this case the windows are not openable and air may be distributed to the interior of the coach through grilles 55 in a duct 57 running along the inside of the roof panel, the spent air being exhausted Vthrough grilles 55 in the oor panel into light plastic ducting installed in the space between the oor and bottom panels. Alternatively, flow in the reverse Vdirection may be used. The duct 57 may also carry further electric light fittings 58. If desired, the underside of the coach body may be 7 closed in, except in way of the bogies 2, by a moulded plastic fairing 6G, removable access panels 61 being provided where necessary for servicing the equipment in the housing 54.

As will be seen from FIGURES 3 and 7 the formation of the door openings involves the insertion and attachment by means ofan adhesive of a pre-moulded block 59 constituting a door sill and footboard.

The coach shown in FIGURES 9 to l2 differs from that shown -in FIGURES 1 toty 8 in two principal ways. Firstly the door and bottom panels are not separate and instead there is only a bottom panel 7) in Vwhich-the mnlticeltlular layer 72 is thicker than elsewhere. Secondly the blocks 'of multicellular material are not individually Wrapped in fibrous material, ibut are secured together by adhesive, except in way ort the bogie mountin-gs and door openings where fibrous material is placed between the blocks to form webs 74 and 76.

rlhere are also slight dierences in the metal reinforcement. There fare additional boxes 7 3k at the ends of the bottom to receive sliding rods to support a concertina erence to FIGURES 13 and 14 which show the apparatus by which the body shown in FIGURES 9 to l2 is made.

The female mould 84 is; la lixtu're, placed with its open side upwards, and the male mould 86 is movable, being provided with [lifting attachments 18S connected to hoists 90 on a gantry 92. r[There is also a form tool 94 of similar contour to the male mould, but of lighter construction. This has trunnions 96 by which it is connected to turther hoists 98 on the lgantry 92.

The blocks 100 of multicellular material are placed on the form tool 94, stuck together and are then covered by the lonter skin of imimpregnated fibrous material. Tlhen the form tool inverted, traversed over the female mould and lowered into it, and the outer ski-n and blocks are letft in the female mould, as shown in FIGURE 14, the form tool :being then raised and removed. The inner skin of unimpregrrated fibrous material is placed over the male mould.

Openings 102 are moulded or out in the blocks 10)` be- Access to the blogio pivot mounting base fore assembly. When the Iblocks are `in the female mould, the outer skin 194 is cut and folded back at lilo around the edges of the openings. A iiller piece 188 of slightly compressible material is placed in the opening, and then the male mould is traversed and lowered onto the 'female mould. he inner 'skin 11i) is not cut away fnom the opening until after the moulding process, as this seqnence enables the skin to lbe evenly stretched over the male mould,

, lmpregnating resin in a ree flowing yliquid state is then admitted through a number of spaced `openings 111 and 113 in the lowest pants `of the moulding surfaces of the femiale and male moulds until all the ilonous material or fthe assembly has been impregnated with the resin.` The resin is thenallowed or caused to set by polymerisation, for example by heating `one :or both parts of the mould.

When the resi-n has fully set the male mould is again i raised by means of Ethe lifting gear, carrying the moulding with it, is traversed and lowered into a carrier 112 mounted on trunnions on an assembly trolley 114. The attachment of the sliin-iiorming brous material to the male .mould is then released and the mouldl yand filler pieces extracted. The carrier is then turned ion its itrunnions to bring the rool panel uppermost. While on the assembly trolley, fittings such as doors and windows, internal partitions, luggage racks and seats are installed so as to complete the halt" body as far as practical. When this Work has been inished, two half bodies,` each on an assembly trolley, are brought together, with the `bo'gie trames 116 and bhe drawbar lframes 118 (see FIGURES 1l and 12)-in their proper positions between them, and the necessary connections are made 5by means oan' adhesive at the joint faces 12@ and `122 and of the bolts 124 and 126 and the butt-straps 128i, 139, 132 and`134. Finally, loose furnishings such as carpeting and seat upholstery, which are readily removable for cleaning or replacement, are iitted and fthe completed body is mounted upon bog-ies 'and is ready foruse,

il the two sides of the :coach are not identical then they may be moulded each with aditte'rent ller piece arrangement. f Y

We claim: Y

1. A chassisless railwayvehicle comprising a shell, two bogies near opposite ends oi the said shell, and means for applying force to the shell near" `each` end, the said shelllueing composed tof two trough-shaped mouldings edges, each of the said two mouldings comprising inner and outer skins ci resinebonded fibrous material, rigidV 'gear to the shell.

sides lof a longitudinal plaine and joined to one another along both pairs of adjacent longitudinal edges at the said longitudinal plane, each of the said two mouldings comprising inner and outer skins of resinbolnded fibrous material connected by rigid cell-forming membranes, the said mouldings having separate metal reinforcement embedded in them near the ends of the shell, the vehiole having fastenings nea-r each end passing through the said metal reinforcement and securing to the shell the means for applying v`force to the shell.

2. ln a railway vehicle according to claim 1, boiling gear and drawtgear near each end of the said shell, and idastenings connected to said buinig gear and drawgear passing through ythe sai dent/bedded reinforcement.

3. ln `a railway vehioleiaccording to claim l, said bogies being attached to the said shell by -astenings passing through the said embedded reinforcement andconnected to said Ishell attaching Said bogies to said shell.

4, A chassisless railway Vehicle comprising two longitudinally spaced bogies, a shell mounted directly on said bfogies, and ybufiing gear and drawgear near each end of said shell, said shell bein-g composed ot two troughshaped mouldings :constituting the parts of said shell lying on opposite sides of a ventical central longitudinal plane and joined to one another at the longitudinal plane along the top and bottom pairs of adjacent cell-forming members, -cionneoting said inner and outer skins, the said shell having separate embedded metal freinforcemenfs near each end, fastenings passing through said reiniiorcements `to secure the lshell to the said two bogies, and fastenings to `secure the said Vbufing gear and draw- Reference's lCited in the le of this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTSV Schwenk Apr. 23, 1940 2,242,269 i Sierbier May 20, 1941 2,356,008 Schafer Aug.` 15, 1944` 2,438,185 France Mar. 23, 1948 2,723,154 Barenyi Nov. 8, 1955` 2,744,042 Pace May 1, 1956 2,814,524 Porscheet al. NOW/226, 1957 2,883,233 VBeckley f Apr. 21, 1959 2,907,284 Folmsbee Oct. 6, 1959 McBride Nov. 29, 1960' 

1. A CHASSISLESS RAILWAY VEHICLE COMPRISING A SHELL, TWO BOGIES NEAR OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE SAID SHELL, AND MEANS FOR APPLYING FORCE TO THE SHELL NEAR EACH END, THE SAID SHELL BEING COMPOSED OF TWO TROUGH-SHAPED MOULDINGS CONSTITUTING THE PARTS OF THE SAID SHELL LYING ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF A LONGITUDINAL PLANE AND JOINED TO ONE ANOTHER ALONG BOTH PAIRS OF ADJACENT LONGITUDINAL EDGES AT THE SAID LONGITUDINAL PLANE, EACH OF THE SAID TWO MOULDINGS 